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The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
For the direct-to-video movie, see Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite. The Lego Batman Movie is a 2017 3D computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by the Warner Animation Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was directed by Chris McKay, and written by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern and John Whittington, and produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Based on the Lego Batman toy line, the film is an international co-production of the United States, Australia and Denmark, and the first spin-off installment of The Lego Movie franchise. The story centers on the DC Comics character Batman as he attempts to overcome his greatest fear in order to stop the Joker's latest plan. The film features Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman from The Lego Movie alongside Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson and Ralph Fiennes. The Lego Batman Movie had its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017,4 and was released in the United States on February 10, 2017.8 Internationally, the film was released in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX and IMAX 3D. The film received positive reviews with critics praising its animation, voice acting, soundtrack, visual style and humor and was also commercially successful, having grossed $312 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million. A sequel is in development. Plot Within the DC superhero dimension in the Lego Universe, Batman continues to protect Gotham City and fight crime. During his latest mission to stop the Joker from destroying the city, he hurts his feelings by telling him he is not as important in his life as he thinks he is, leading Joker to seek the ultimate revenge on him. The following day, Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne attends the city's winter gala which is celebrating both the retirement of Commissioner Gordon and the ascension of his daughter Barbara as the city's new police commissioner, only to be infuriated by Barbara's plans to restructure the police to function without the need of Batman. Without warning, Joker crashes the party with the city's other villains, all of whom surrender with the exception of Harley Quinn who disappears during the confusion. Suspecting his arch-rival is up to something, Batman plots to steal Superman's Phantom Zone Projector, a device that can banish anyone to the Phantom Zone which houses some of the most dangerous villains in the Lego multiverse. Just as he plans his heist of the device, Alfred intervenes and advises him to take care of Dick Grayson whom Bruce unwittingly adopted as his ward during the gala. Reluctantly agreeing to do so, Batman fosters Dick as Robin, whereupon the pair successfully recover the Projector from the Fortress of Solitude and break into Arkham Asylum to send Joker to the Phantom Zone. Suspecting that the Joker wanted to be sent there, Barbara locks up Batman and Robin for their reckless actions. While the Projector is being seized as evidence, Harley steals it back as part of Joker's plan and frees him, allowing him to return to Gotham with all the villains he had recruited in the Phantom Zone, including King Kong, the Gremlins, the Wicked Witch of the Westand her Flying Monkeys, a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a Velociraptor (presumably from Jurassic Park), Lord Voldemort, Sauron, the Jaws''shark, the Daleks, Lord Vampyre, The Evil Mummy, Swamp Creature, Medusa, Agent Smith and his clones, Skeleton Warriors, General Zod and the Kraken. Realizing that the city does need him, Barbara releases Batman and Robin and teams up with them and Alfred to stop the Joker. Although Batman finds himself able to trust and rely on his new team upon reaching Wayne Island, he chooses to send them away rather than losing them like his parents. Upon facing him alone, Joker believes that Batman is incapable of change and zaps him to the Phantom Zone before stealing the Batcave's stash of confiscated bombs. Arriving in the Phantom Zone, Batman witnesses the harm his selfishness has caused to everyone and slowly accepts his greatest fear. Making a deal with the Zone's gatekeeper Phyllis, a talking Lego brick, to be allowed back to Gotham in order to retrieve the Zone's escaped prisoners, Batman arrives in time to save his teammates, apologizing to them for his actions, and requesting their help to stop Joker. Realizing that Joker plans to use the explosives he took to destroy the city's Energy Facility, thus causing the city to come apart and be destroyed, Batman turns Barbara into Batgirl, before he, his team, and Gotham City's other villains, who felt neglected by Joker, manage to successfully send the escaped villains back to the Phantom Zone. However, the group fail to stop Joker's bombs going off as the explosion begins to tear the city apart at the plates beneath it. Knowing this was his fault, Batman reluctantly convinces Joker that he is the true reason for being the hero he is before they, their friends and allies, and the city's inhabitants, chain-link themselves together and pull the plates back together, saving the city. With the city saved, Batman prepares to be taken back into the Phantom Zone to fulfill his bargain only to be rejected by Phyllis who chooses to let him remain after seeing how much he had changed in order to save everyone. Afterwards, Batman allows Joker and the rest of his rogues to temporarily escape with the confidence that whenever they return, they will be no match for Batman and his family. Cast| edit source Main articles: List of The Lego Movie characters and List of Batman supporting characters * Will Arnett as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire, vigilante superhero from Gotham City. * Zach Galifianakis as The Joker:9 Batman's archenemy who is also known as the "Clown Prince of Crime." * Michael Cera as Richard "Dick" Grayson / Robin:10 An orphan who is adopted by Bruce Wayne, and becomes a sidekick to Batman. * Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl:11 A police officer who becomes the new police commissioner. * Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth:12 The family butler of the Wayne family, and friend to Bruce Wayne. * Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn:13 The Joker's girlfriend and accomplice, and fellow-criminal in Gotham City. * Héctor Elizondo as Commissioner James Gordon:14 The commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department, and ally to Batman. * Lauren White as Chief O'Hara: the Gotham City Police Department's chief of police. ** White also voices Medusa: a Gorgon from Greek mythology who is imprisoned in Gotham City. * Mariah Carey as Mayor McCaskill:1516 The mayor of Gotham City. * Eddie Izzard as Lord Voldemort:17 A powerful dark wizard and enemy of Harry Potter. * Seth Green as King Kong:17 A giant gorilla from Skull Island. ** Green also voices the Swamp Creature, a gill-man. * Jemaine Clement as Sauron:17 The Dark Lord from Middle-earth. * Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face:1819 A disfigured lawyer once allied with Batman, who became a villain following his criminal downfall. * Riki Lindhome as Poison Ivy:20 A villain in Gotham city, who has powers to control flora lifeforms. ** Lindhome also voices the Wicked Witch of the West, an evil witch from the Land of Oz. * Conan O'Brien as Riddler:20 A riddle-obsessed criminal from Gotham City. * Jason Mantzoukas as Scarecrow:20 A criminally insane former doctor, who uses fear gas to manipulate the people of Gotham City. * Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman:20 An expert burglar, vigilante anti-hero and criminal from Gotham City. * Kate Micucci as Clayface:20 A villainous criminal from Gotham City, with the metahuman ability of shapeshifting. * Doug Benson as Bane:20 A criminal genius from Gotham City, who uses a drug called "Venom" to gain superhuman strength. * David Burrows as Anchorman Phil, an anchorman in Gotham City. ** Burrows also voices Mr. Freeze: A doctor and scientist from Gotham City, who turns to villainy following the death of his wife. Fries wields a cryogenic suit that grants him superhuman abilities, who uses a freeze gun weapon. * Matt Villa as Killer Croc: An animalistic, metahuman villain from Gotham City. * John Venzon as Penguin: A rich and powerful crime lord from Gotham City, who uses trick-umbrellas and robotic penguins. * Laura Kightlinger as Reporter Pippa, a reporter that leads a news segment called "Metropolis in Focus." ** Kightlinger also voices Orca: An animalistic, metahuman villain from Gotham City. * Todd Hansen as Captain Dale, one the pilots of the airplane that Joker hijacks. * Chris McKay as Pilot Bill, one of the pilots of the airplane that Joker hijacks. * Mark Jonathan Davis as Himself ** Davis also voices Richard Cheese through the use of archival recordings * Channing Tatum as Superman:20 A superhero with various superpowers, from the planet Krypton, and member of the Justice League who defends Earth and lives in Metropolis. * Ellie Kemper as Phyllis,17 the gatekeeper of the Phantom Zone. * Jonah Hill as Hal Jordan / Green Lantern:20 A U.S. military Airforce pilot, and superhero member of the Justice League who gains his powers from the Lantern power ring which chose him. * Adam DeVine as The Flash:20 A forensic scientist who is also a speedster superhero with the ability to move at supersonic speeds by tapping into the Speed Force, and member of the Justice League. * Brent Musburger as Reporter #1 * Ralph Garman as Reporter #2 * Chris Hardwick as Reporter #321 Production Chris McKay, the animation supervisor on ''The Lego Movie, director of The Lego Batman Movie.22 Following the success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros. gave the green light to further multiple Lego films being produced including The Lego Batman Movie; Chris McKay, who co-directed The Lego Movie, was brought on board to direct the film marking this as his solo directorial debut.23 In an interview about his work on the film, McKay stated that working on the film was "a very mixed blessing" owing partly to the film's hectic time schedule for its production, remarking that the two and half years allocated to the film made it difficult to fit in everything that he wanted for the movie, considering his earlier work on The Lego Movie.2324 His work on The Lego Batman Movie was influenced by the comedy portrayed in both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series, with his pitch for the film to the studios being described as like "Jerry Maguire as directed by Michael Mann".24His proposal to combine all the Batman eras featured in the comic book series and various media formats, including movies and comic series, despite a couple of issues—the total inconsistency inherent to such a task, and Lego rejecting some of the characters he proposed to include in the film—was based on his desire of how to portray Robin within the film's setting. In an interview regarding his version of the superhero duo, McKay stated:24 Prior to the release of The Lego Movie 2, Chris Miller stated that all of the Lego movies are based on the imagination of a child character, with The Lego Movie events happening in young Finn's mind. Miller affirmed that The Lego Batman Movie was also from the imagination of Finn, though the character did not appear within the film.25 Batman and pop culture references As part of its production, the movie was designed to make numerous references to previous Batman movies, cartoons and comics. In a scene where Alfred quotes Batman's previous movies, he mentions: the 1940s Batman serials; the films Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Begins(2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016); the television shows Batman (1960s), Batman: The Animated Series (1990s), Batman Beyond (2000s) and The Batman (2000s); and the comics Detective Comics #27 (Batman's introductory story), The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989).26 Other references include previous costumes worn by Batman and Robin and the various Batmobiles used. In most cases, their appearances in the movie are done in a Lego style, with the exception being footage from a live-action shot of Adam West's depiction of Batman in the 1960s Batman series and a picture of Batman's suit from Batman and Robin. Climactic events from past Batman films involving the Joker have been mentioned, including "that time with the parade and the Prince music" (1989's Batman) and "the two boats" (The Dark Knight).26 Alongside Joker, the main antagonist of the film's story, and Superman, who features heavily and has notable links to the Christopher Reeve films Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), many other DC characters, both villains associated with Batman and other DC superheroes, feature in the film. The film's villains who have been featured in Batman comics, films and cartoons include: Man-Bat; Captain Boomerang; Egghead; Crazy Quilt; Eraser; Polka-Dot Man; Mime; Tarantula; King Tut from the 1960s series; Killer Moth; March Harriet; Zodiac Master; the Mutant Leader from The Dark Knight Returns; Doctor Phosphorus; Magpie; Calculator; Hugo Strange; an unidentified version of Red Hood; the Kabuki Twins from The Batman; Orca; Gentleman Ghost; Clock King; Calendar Man; Kite Man; Catman; Zebra-Man; and a variation of Condiment King from Batman: The Animated Series.26 The other DC heroes who feature, both from the Justice League and Super Friends, include: Wonder Woman; Aquaman; Cyborg; Green Arrow; Black Canary; Hawkman; Hawkgirl; Martian Manhunter; Apache Chief; Black Vulcan; El Dorado; Samurai; Wonder Dog; the Wonder Twins and Gleek. Although not part of the DC franchise, Iron Man from Marvel Comics is referenced in the film as part of a small joke about Batman's password for entering the Batcave in reference to the famous rivalry between DC and Marvel.26 The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them following the same narrative of The Lego Movie in that they came from worlds that co-exist alongside others of the Lego Universe, which are made up of Lego playsets of the various media franchises. These additional characters include: Medusa from Lego Minifigures; the Swamp Creature, Evil Mummy, and Lord Vampyre from Lego Monster Fighters; King Kong; the Daleks from Doctor Who; the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz; the Kraken from Clash of the Titans; Agent Smith and his clones from The Matrix; the great white shark Bruce from Jaws; Voldemort from Harry Potter; Sauronfrom The Lord of the Rings; the Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptors from Jurassic Park; The Skeleton Warriors from Jason and the Argonauts and the Gremlins.2627 The way in which the Gremlins attack a plane references The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".28 The film also includes Batman watching the scene from Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise says "You complete me"; this line had previously been quoted by The Joker in The Dark Knight.26 In the scene where Batman discusses possible team names he mentions "Fox Force Five," which is the name of a failed television pilot mentioned in Pulp Fiction.29 The film's use of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a nod to the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed.29 The film's other references include Gleaming the Cube and Gymkata.28 Soundtrack |} The film's original score was composed by Lorne Balfe and features Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith. This makes the film the first in the franchise to replace Mark Mothersbaugh as composer.3031 The soundtrack was released on February 3, 2017, on CD and for digital download, while the vinyl version was released on May 19, 2017.[citation needed] ; Track listing Release The film's world premiere was conducted in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017,4 whereupon it went into general release from February 8; it was released in Denmark on February 9, and in the United States the day after.32 Its overall release saw movie theatres displaying the film in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX, though the latter format was restricted to 2D for North America, while international countries were able to view it in IMAX 3D.33 Marketing Will Arnett promoting the film at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. The first teaser trailer for The Lego Batman Movie was released on March 24, 2016, and features the song "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa.34 It was attached to showings of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in theatres. A second teaser trailer was released on March 28, 2016, and features references to all live-action iterations of Batman, from the 1960s Batman TV series to Batman v Superman. A third trailer was released on July 23, 2016.35 A fourth trailer was released on November 4, 2016.3637 Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including two sets of Collectible Minifigures. A Story Pack for the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions based on The Lego Batman Movie was released on February 10, 2017, alongside the film. The pack adds a six-level story campaign adapting the events of the film, and includes playable figures of Robin and Batgirl, a driveable Batwing, and a constructible gateway model based on the Batcomputer. A Fun Pack including Excalibur Batman and his Bionic Steed was also released the same day.38 On January 14, 2017, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chevrolet unveiled a life-sized Lego Batmobile inspired by the design featured in the film, constructed from around 350,000 Lego pieces. As a related promotion, a Bat-Signal (alternating between Batman's emblem and the Chevrolet logo) was projected on the Renaissance Center over the weekend, and Chevrolet released a new television commercial tying into the film, featuring the Batmobile as a crossover with its ongoing "Real People, Not Actors" campaign.3940 Warner Bros. released several promotional tie-ins on the week of the movie's release. LEGO billboard versions of several TV shows were shown outside of the studio lot, that took 300 hours to make out of 10,000 bricks.41 The Big Bang Theory included a LEGO version of the opening sequence in the episode "The Locomotion Reverberation" that first aired on CBS. In addition, the network aired two LEGO commercials featuring Batman and the cast.42 The CW featured LEGO end cards for Supergirl, The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow, respectively, on the week of the movie's release. All four DC shows also include a special variant of the Berlanti Productions logo that featured Batman's cameo and a new recording from Greg Berlanti's real-life father who says "Batman move your head" instead of the usual "Greg move your head". In addition, the network aired two commercials where Batman interacts with the characters from each show.43 Home media The LEGO Batman Movie was released on Digital HD on May 19, 2017. The release included the theatrical short film The Master: A LEGO Ninjago Short, as well as four new short films: Dark Hoser, Batman is Just Not That Into You, Cooking with Alfred and Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That?.44 The LEGO Batman Movie was released on DVD, Blu-ray (2D and 3D), and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on June 13, 2017.44 The film debuted at No. 3 on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart.45 Reception Box office The LEGO Batman Movie grossed $175.8 million in the United States and Canada and $136.2 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $312 million, against a production budget of $80 million.7 In the United States and Canada, The LEGO Batman Movie opened alongside two other sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter 2, and was projected to gross around $60 million in its opening weekend.46 It earned $2.2 million from Thursday-night previews and $15 million on Friday.47 It went on to open with $53 million, finishing first at the box office.48 In its second weekend, the film grossed $32.7 million (a drop of 38.4%), again topping the box office;4950 with the additional President's Day holiday on Monday, it made a total of $42.7 million for the weekend.51 In its third weekend of release, the film dropped to second at the box office, behind newcomer Get Out, grossing $19.2 million (a drop of 41.2%).52 Outside North America the film was simultaneously released in 61 countries, and was expected to gross around $40 million over its first three days.46 It ended up grossing $37 million in its opening weekend, including $9.3 million in the United Kingdom, $2.6 million in Mexico, $2.3 million in Germany and $2.2 million in Russia.53 Critical response On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 281 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise's winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny—and beautifully animated—family-friendly mayhem."54It was ranked the 14th best superhero movie of all time on the site.55 On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".56 Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.57 Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, praising its comedy, and saying: "The LEGO Batman Movie isn’t the same experience as watching The LEGO Movie, but I also don’t think it's trying to be. It’s trying to be a fun superhero movie with clever callbacks to previous Batman films (every single Batman movie all the way back to the 1940s serials are referenced) that can, at least, provide DC superhero fans with a taste of fun amidst all the doom and gloom. (That can either be a reference to 'the real world' or the current DC Cinematic Universe films, you can choose either one you want or both.) And at that, The LEGO Batman Movie succeeds."58 Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" and wrote, "LEGO Batman revs so fast and moves so frenetically that it becomes a little exhausting by the end. It flirts with being too much of a good thing. But rarely has corporate brainwashing been so much fun and gone down with such a delightful aftertaste."59 Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times was positive in his review, saying, "In its best moments, this gag-a-minute Bat-roast serves as a reminder that, in the right hands, a sharp comic scalpel can be an instrument of revelation as well as ridicule."60 Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post praised the film for its heart, humor, and action which, "snap together, with a satisfying click."61 Accolades Sequel On December 5, 2018, McKay announced a sequel to the film is in the works at Warner Bros., himself directing once again.92